Cinders of a Criminal Organisation
by ViresAdLegatum
Summary: Ash Ketchum was a regular boy that had dreams of being a Pokémon master, like all other boys of his age group. Yeah, that didn't last long. Rated T for now, may possibly become an M.
1. Regret

**A/N** Hello everyone I have decided to do a story of Pokémon and as far as I know this is the only one of its kind where Ash joins team rocket. Also he is not going to leave team rocket because he fell in love and I'm not even sure if he is going to be in a relationship at all. Also he will make his way up the ladder until he ends up taking over team rocket.

(FURTHER A/N)

**A/N Ok, that was the Author note of that whose story I am adopting! Her name is Axelover-Burn-Baby. Her story was great, and an awesome idea that she couldn't continue, so I took the liberty of doing so. Please enjoy the improved version of her amazing story!**

* * *

Ash Ketchum was a regular boy that had dreams of being a Pokémon master, like all other boys of his age group.

Yeah, that didn't last long.

All that changed a few months before he turned 5 when his mother passed away from a disease she was fighting for a long time. Good thing Ash lived close to Professor Oak's lab. Oak was a good friend of his mom and he helped to take care of Ash along with a Mr. Mime they had.

Ash still lived in the house but unfortunately his friendship with Gary Oak died that day when he made fun of Ash not having any family to help him with his Pokémon journey.

But as always, that wasn't the end of the torment. For such as small town, there was a surplus of bullies. Of course they never beat him up but they made sure to say as many negative things to Ash as possible. At the end of each day, Ash made a vow that he would make them regret what they did and he would control whatever he desired.

* * *

5 years later

* * *

"Professor, I don't understand how you can't have one extra Pokémon when you **knew** that there was going to be four new Pokémon trainers starting today." asked a very upset Ash.

"Ha looks like your nothing but a loser. Exactly what I have been saying this whole time." Gary sneered at Ash as he brazenly tossed his pokeball up and down.

"I am sorry Ash but the tame Rattata, Pidgey and Sandshrew that I had requested were stolen and there won't be another set of Pokémon until next year. I really am sorry Ash."

And with that Ash decided to leave before Gary could mock him even more.

* * *

Ash had made his way down to the beach in a little cove that not many people go to. He was just so mad. He had woken up on time was able to get everything ready easily. He had visited his mother's and Mr. Mime's grave and then left.

And what happens? All the Pokémon were taken and there were no extra's left. Now he had to wait a year after everyone just to start his journey.

"Well you seem to very upset young man."

Ash jumped up and turned around to see a man standing a few feet away from him.

"Yeah, so what if I am? What it is to you? Anyway, who are you?" He said turning around to fully face the new person.

"Sorry that is very rude of me my name is James and I have a proposition for you. I couldn't help but notice that you don't have a Pokémon with you…"

Scowling, he looked at the stranger. He had a pokeball hoodie on, with the hood down. He had long Donphan leather jeans and what looked to be combat boots adorning his feet.

"So what if I don't have a Pokémon now? Have you come to mock me just like all the other people in this God forsaken town?" Ash said as he returned to his seat at the side of the ocean.

"Now no need to get defensive. You see, I work for an organization that is always on the lookout for new trainers to help join the ranks. It's called Team rocket and maybe you have heard of us. Now before you think that Team rocket is just a gang that steals Pokémon, we have a bigger picture in mind. What we want is world domination. Of course, some people think we will never be able to achieve it, but what we are doing is making our way through each region and gaining power. To sweeten the deal I have two Pokémon with me that I could give you. All you have to do is have an anonymous video call with our leader and you're in. What have you got to lose?"

Ash sighed.

"I can already tell that you have ways of making sure that I can't get out of this, do you not?"

"Smart boy! Yes, basically if you say no then I will just use one of my Pokémon who will make it so you forget you ever met me. If you do remember, there are ways to have you disappear."

"Well it's not as if I was going to say no, now show me the Pokémon you were talking about."

James pulled out several poke balls, and then separated them into two piles. One with 2 poke balls and one with four.

"Well here they are. Charmander and an Ekans but be mindful… you only get to choose one. You don't have to worry about either of them not listening to you. Team rocket has made sure that any new grunts -which is the position you will be starting at- have Pokémon that will listen to them. Take your pick.

"Charmander is what I want." Ash said straight away.

After give him Charmander's pokeball James received a message on his C-Gear. After catching a glimpse of it, he smiled.

"Now, my assignment is to go with you for your first few missions just in case we need to make an escape, if you mess up and also to help you if you need to. Be mindful I am not going to hold your hand through all of the missions. I will give you guild lines and see if you can come up with some ideas. Until then we can make our way to Viridian City for your first mission."

Ash stood up from the sand, brushed the back of his pants and looked at his pokeball. He was going on his journey, albeit not the way he planned, but at least he was starting. Looks like he was back in the game.

'_Watch out Gary, I'll show you!'_

* * *

**A/N Well, that's it for now. I am improving her chapters from now on, and adding my own plot twists and other things, but the story will be the same!**

**For now, I'm out!**

**~Vires**


	2. Beginnings

**A/N Alright, another chapter! Reason, the one review that made me think in a while. E, or whoever you want to be called, trust me. I may have picked up a story, but I don't write for no reason. I have considered all the plot holes, twists and such. Well, not all. There will be one thing that I oversaw, but trust me when I say this, it will be covered. The story isn't determined by the first chapter, ya know? James is different in this, and if you read the original story, then you might get a glimpse of what is happening and it might answer some of your questions. Before any of you ask, I am choosing not to include GENERATION V of Pokémon, because I am completely unfamiliar with them. I never managed to get Black and White, so I missed out. This is the reason as to why.**

**Now that that is out of the way, let's get on with this chapter.**

* * *

After a considerable trek, the duo managed to arrive at a bustling area known as Viridian City. James paused, causing Ash to run directly into him. As Ash fell over, James looked over towards the center of the city.

"Ok. Ash now that we are here your mission will be to steal some Pokémon."

"You don't say…" Ash said, slowly getting up while nursing his backside.

"We won't be stealing Rattata or Pidgey because they are easier than my friend Jessie, so we have to set a higher standard."

Ash looked around the buildings he could see. After a little gazing, he noticed a Pokémon center.

"Wouldn't it be easier to steal Pokémon from the Pokémon center?"

James looked at the boy incredulously. He was thinking the exact same thing, but he wanted Ash to say it. He made a good choice.

"Well the best place would be at the Pokémon Center…"

"But I heard that a man named John Parkersin had some rare Pokémon. He had moved here because the man wanted to live some were that was quiet. He has been bragging the he has a lot of rare Pokémon and he will let anyone see them. I want to check out both places."

James, gobsmacked for a second time, didn't want to show it, so he turned around back towards the city.

"Very good. I didn't know about this John fellow since I was in and around Pallet for a while. How is it you know about him?"

"Oh he was on the news with Professor Oak and was saying anyone that was visiting Viridian should come to his garden and see his Pokémon. I'm surprised that no one has tried to steal his yet."

"Ok. I am tired after that long trek, so I think I will be heading to an Inn. This is your mission, so I suggest you scout out the two areas."

"Do you think making a note of cameras and Trainers in proximity would be a good idea?"

Again, James couldn't believe he had found this boy. His initiative was amazing, and his ideas were even more so.

"Yes, not a bad idea. I was about to tell you to do that myself, but you already have it covered. I will be attending to something so I suspect you should be on your way. I have the hotel room booked. Here is the number." James said, handing Ash a slip of paper.

"Gotchya. I'm out!" Ash said, speeding off towards the Pokémon center.

* * *

"Hello Nurse Joy I was wondering if you can look after my Pokémon until I come back please?"

"Of course I can! Just give me your pokeballs and I will look after them for you."

Ash smiled. As he was giving her his Charmander, he thought that this was the best opportunity.

"Umm… could you please tell me were exactly you will be keeping him…he is my very first Pokémon and a present from a friend, I'm just so nervous about leaving him here even if it is for a few hours." Ash said, making sure the worry was deeply etched into his face.

"Oh don't worry. Downstairs we keep all of the pokeballs in a dark room and it's very secure so you don't need to worry about anything happening to your Pokémon while it is in my care."

"Thanks a lot Nurse Joy I feel a lot better now. Please take care." Ash thanked Nurse Joy. As he walked towards the exit, he whispered under his breath.

"_Two behind counter, one in right doorway, several more likely in the dark room. Possibility of infiltration, not good."_

As he shut the door behind him, he noticed something on the outside of the building, and that instantly rose his hopes up. If he told James about this…

Smiling, Ash then made his way to John Parkersin's house.

* * *

'_Viridian forest…'_ Thought Ash.

He had come to where John lived, but he didn't realise it was so close to the forest. He arrived at the front of the house, and swallowed.

'_This is it…'_

Then he went and knocked on the door. After a few minutes and someone yelling to wait a minute a short, very round man answered the door.

"Why hello, it seems that I have yet another wonderful visitor to see my Pokémon! That is why you are here young man?" The pudgy man clamed in a very happy manner

Ash could only nod, kind of freaked out that the man was just so happy and…. round.

"Yes sir I am here to see your Pokémon my name is Axel and I just started my journey and I want to see as many Pokémon as I can if that is ok with you sir."

"Now no need to call me sir just call me John and you can come on in I will show you to my garden."

They soon made their way to the back of the house. The house itself wasn't that big, just a one story house and a really big garden. Ash noted that there didn't seem to be any security cameras at all. They had quickly made it to the garden and Ash could say he was very surprised by all of the Pokémon here.

"Wow John you have a lot of different Pokémon. Can you tell me all of the types that you have please?"

"Of course I can, I love to tell people the types that I have. Well there are of course the Rattata and Pidgey. I have a few Ekans, Pikachu, Clefairy, a few Eevee, Ditto, some Magikarp, Porygon, and if you're lucky to see them, the two very shy Dratini."

Ash was very surprised by some of the Pokémon John had, of course he made sure to look up info on Pokémon and how many there are and found nearly 493 species.

"Wow John that is very impressive but aren't you worried that something might happen to your Pokémon."

John being very dense didn't think twice about answering Ash.

"Oh I'm not worried, the Pokémon are very territorial and will make sure to scare away any intruders so I have on need to worry."

After talking with John for a few minutes more Ash was able to go into the garden to get a count of the Pokémon and where they resided. Then he had to leave to go pick up his Pokémon. Ash noticed that when he made it back to the hotel James was still gone so he went back out and decided to train with Charmander and get a feel of what he could do. When he made his way to their hotel room a few hours later around 7pm James was there and they both decided they would go over everything they were able to do in the morning.

* * *

It was a few minutes after both he and Ash had separated and he made his way down to the police station to meet with a fellow agent. He had made it behind the station a little ways off and meets up with the agent.

"It has been a while Jet do you have good news for me."

"Yes I successfully managed to convert this entire police unit along with the police units in Pewter and Cerulean. Everyone in these units has devoted their loyalty to Team rocket and we are slowly getting our people in high and influential positions."

"Good do you have anything for me from our leader?"

"Yes I do James; he told me to give you this video phone and said once you are done talking with him and your new mission to get rid of it."

James nodded, reaching out and taking the phone with a word of thanks.

"Alright I will call him once I get to a secure and empty area keep up the good work. Make sure that if anyone starts to show that they aren't loyal to Team rocket get rid of them immediately is that under stood?"

"Don't worry James I know what I have to do. I already got rid of the previous Jenny that didn't like our views."

* * *

Leaving Jet to his business, James walking a little bit into Viridian forest, and called his leader.

"Hello Sir. I had just finished talking with the agent."

"How is your new recruit?"

"Terrible. He can get stuff done, but he isn't too efficient. With time though, he can be alright."

Little did Giovanni know that James was lying through his teeth.

"Ok. I trust your judgement. Make sure that he knows of the situation between the police units and his directive.

"Is there anything else you need me to do sir"

The leader nodded into the video call.

"Yes there is. In Pewter city, there is the gym leader which happens to be Flint. During Flint's journey he joined our organization and has taken over the gym. You won't have to worry about Pewter city at all. Make sure that he is not slacking off I want to make sure that he is very powerful and does not let many trainers through. The less trainers the better our chances of success. You will get more information of your mission in the next few weeks. That is all."

Giovanni ended the call right there.

After making sure he got rid of the phone he decided to get a map to get through Viridian forest now instead of later.

"Sooner or later my leader you won't be needed anymore." James said with a sneer.

He started to scope out both the Pokémon Center and that "John's" house just to make sure Ash was able to get as much information as he could. He noticed something about John's house and wanted to tell Ash about it as soon as possible. He made his way back to the Hotel just as Ash finished his training with Charmander.

Seeing that they could wait, they both made a silent agreement that everything would be discussed in the morning.

* * *

**A/N Everyone, that is it for this chapter! Please remember to review!**

**Of course, I am continuing this, Axelover-burn-baby! I hope I can make it better somehow!**

**I think I will do my outro on this Fanfiction as well as my other one.**

**If you review, I will give you my "Charmander…" in the "Pokémon Center…"**

**Take that as sexually as you like.**

**~Vires out!**


	3. Tactics and training

**A/N Hey, I am back with another chapter of Cinders! Great to be back. This one was a difficult chapter to fix, but I managed it. Hope you enjoy this chapter! I have a few idea's for the future of this story, which I hope will allow you to enjoy it even more.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

* * *

Ash slowly opened his eyes. He was laying head down on a mattress, while he was sitting in a chair. What an uncomfortable way to sleep. He managed to raise his head and look around. The clear white walls beckoned to him, and he slowly blinked back at them. What was he doing in a hospital? He looked down at the sheets, and realised where he was.

'_No…' _He thought.

His eyes were already watering. The fact that he was here again meant only one thing, yet he couldn't bring himself to say it. He slowly raised his gaze to her face.

He knew she was beautiful, even for her age. She still had her life ahead of her. She had so much potential, even if she was stuck at home. The tears started streaming, even at the thought. Why did she have to leave him? Why did she have to die?

Why did mum have to die!?

* * *

Ash sat up violently, sweat glistening over his entire body. He jerked off the covers and swung his feet to the floor.

For some reason, he felt that this dream was somewhat real.

Ever since his mum had died, he had been living alone in the house next to professor Oak. He had a caretaker come check on him every day, but she wasn't his mother. No one could replace the woman who bore him, who loved him with every inch of her soul, who cherished him with every second of the day.

He stood, swaying a little. He knew it was just a dream, but why did it feel so real? He walked towards the shower, stripping of his clothing as he went. Turning on the tap, he pushed his head under the cold water. Letting the water wash away his anxiety, he leant against the shower door.

'_It has never felt so… deep before. Since when did I feel this much pain?'_

Turning off the stream of water, he grabbed the towel hanging over the door and started drying his hair. He pulled on some leftover clothing and walked out to the kitchen, to where James was making breakfast.

'_I haven't got time for this. I need to focus on my mission.'_

"Good morning Ash. I'm glad your awake. How did you sleep?"

"Not bad, thanks James. What can I make for breakfast?"

"Well, I did make too much scrambled eggs, so I suppose you can have some of that. I am going to take a shower."

Ash looked as James walked away. Slowly smiling, he grabbed the plate with the egg on it, and sprinkled some salt onto the delicacy. Walking over to the table and taking a seat, he started to think.

'_Is this actually the right way to go? I mean, am I prepared to be a criminal? I know James gave me a Pokémon and all, but is this the best way to do things? Heh, well, I suppose I am already too deep into things, and James seems like a nice guy. I would be better off with him than alone on the field. I think I might hang out with him for a bit longer.'_ He thought.

Just as he finished, James came out, his cyan hair gleaming with drops of water.

"So, you managed to get all the information you could get. What would you recommend going after?"

"John's place would be best. He told me that his Pokémon scare away all intruders."

"Yes, it would be the best place to start, wouldn't it? However, did you notice the circular device on the door of John's house?"

Ash froze. He missed something? Then again, he was only a recruit, and he hadn't done this before, so it made sense. Come to think of it, he did notice it. It seemed to be a doorbell at first glance, but when Ash went to push it, it didn't do anything.

"I saw it outside the door, but I don't know what it is." Ash said, placing his dirty dish in the sink.

"That device is a state of the art security alarm. It alerts the police officers in the city when someone is proximity to a restricted area during a given time."

Ash blinked in surprise. That he didn't expect. He whipped his head to look at James.

"How do we get past it then?"

"I already have an idea and plan for this job, but I want to hear if you have a plan."

"The only way this would have worked is if we went in at night when most of the Pokémon should be asleep. Just in case, we would use sleep powder on the nocturnal ones, or even all of them in general, so they stay asleep. We would use sleep powder on John so he doesn't wake up, but the only problem was that I don't have a Pokémon that can use sleep powder. But now because of that alarm thing it looks like that plan went flying out the window."

James laughed. He was impressed.

"You really thought this through. Keep it up and you could go far. The key point though, is you forgot how you would get the Pokémon and what you would put them in. You don't have to worry about it though, as this is why I am here; I have equipment that will capture the Pokémon. Since these Pokémon have never been caught I will be able to use a particular machine to capture the Pokémon in pokeballs made by our development department. We have modified the pokeball's from samples of master balls, and they won't grantee capture for high levelled Pokémon but they will be enough for these ones."

Ash, for the umpteenth time this morning, was surprised.

"Right that makes sense, but do you have a pokemon that can use sleep powder?"

"Yes I do, my Venomoth will be able to use sleep powder. Also I'll make sure the powder gets into the house to affect John, and we will use small gas masks just in case."

Ash failed to see how they would deal with the device, and was about to say something until James held up his hand.

"The device, right? Well, this is where being an admin of Team Rocket comes in handy. I have a way to deal with that device. I will show you."

James pulled out his C-gear, and dialled a number.

"Yeah, Jenny? That John's place. Three nights from now his alarm will go off, and then a phone will ring you. It will be me, but I am doing something there. Treat the phone call as John pulling out a false alarm. I will ring from his house too, so it will look good on the phone records. Yep. Yes, no worries, I owe you one. Later."

"Your pretty good at this, James." Ash said, laughing lightly.

"I have been doing this for a long time." James said, not so lightly.

Ash decided to ignore that statement.

"So, I might need equipment and Pokémon to complete this. Do you know where I can get this done?"

"I'm glad you asked that. For now I want you to train your Charmander. The stronger he is, the easier it will be to deal with obstacles. Maybe training him to learn a couple more moves might be a good start."

"Yep. Gotchya, anything else?"

"For the equipment and Pokémon, Team Rocket owns about 73% of the black market here in Kanto. Most of your equipment will come from us, so you don't need to worry about it. However, Pokémon are highly sought out, and are a perfect profit advantage. Pokémon you can buy straight from the black market. The variety is impressive, but also expensive."

Ash shook his head. There was no way he was getting out of this now. He was in it for good. Might as well start acting like a real criminal.

"I didn't even know about there was black market here"

"That's because we have made sure to stay quiet. Just so you know you can get just about any Pokémon but be in mind the rarer the pokemon is the more expensive it will be."

'_That made sense.' _Ash rationalised.

"Don't worry about money. The amount my mother left me should suffice for now, but we can always make more, right?"

"Right. Now here are some pokeballs just in case you find a pokemon you want to catch. These Pokémon register as your own when you catch them, so they will listen to you, of course under trainer rules. Now go and train for as long as you want for the next 3 days."

Surprised, Ash moved to the door to leave, when he turned back.

"Why do you want me to train, I am happy to but why for the next 3 days."

James suddenly got irritated that he wasn't listening. He clearly made out that call so Ash could hear.

"Remember that call. Yeah, I said we will be making a move on John's house in that amount of time."

Ash mentally slapped himself. Now that he mentioned it, it did come up quite obvious. What James said next though caught him off guard.

"It's also to make sure people don't see you as anything else then a brand new trainer, even though you don't have a pokedex. Speaking of being a trainer, you might need to register as one at the Poke center later today. Make that a priority, ok?"

"Yes sir! I'll see you later on today."

As Ash walked out of the room, James nodded. He managed to get a capable recruit this time.

* * *

"Come on out, Charmander!"

When Charmander came out it looked ready to fight, but once it looked around and saw that they were in a quiet clearing it was slightly confused. It turned to find a young boy holding his pokeball, and narrowed his eyes. This wasn't that odd flower obsessed freaky male. This was a normal "Trainer," if you could even call him that. The pokemon was even more surprised when Ash came up to it, crouched and patted its head.

"Hey, what's up? I guess I am your new trainer, huh."

Charmander couldn't believe it. He had been stuck in the pokeball for so long, and this new trainer seemed clueless. Yet… the hand was soft, and warm. He nuzzled the palm slightly, and was disappointed when Ash removed his hand.

"Ok! I am Ash, and I am here to train you. I have been researching, and I think it would be wise to get you stronger. Maybe we can turn the ember you have into a flamethrower, and we will keep smokescreen. Operation…mission…thingy wise, smokescreen could come in handy. Also, Bite and Iron tail seems like a good idea, but we can take it slow with Iron Tail. What do you think, buddy?" Ash said.

Charmander was speechless. Well, as speechless as a pokemon can get.

"I think farming you on Magikarp would be a good idea for now. A bit of training can go a long way!" Ash said, determined.

All the pokemon could do was nod.

Charmander battled many Magikarp, but one stood out. Ash made sure to catch her. The last Magikarp actually knew tackle, which Ash knew would be able to help her grow. The Magikarp was actually quite civil, and was training alongside Charmander, although she had to stay in the water.

On the third and final day, Ash was very happy with their progress.

Charmander, in the short time, had managed to extend his embers use time, bringing it closer to the level of a flamethrower. Bite came easily to Charmander, however it was Iron Tail that was harping on the salamander. He didn't seem to be able to get it down pat, but he knew it would come. Ash was sure it would.

Magikarp on the other hand actually made some damage out of splash. It turns out that you can use the move to dodge nearly any move. Ash was particularly surprised when he found this out. The instinctive flopping of the accursed fish moved the Pokémon out of harm's way when Charmander let off an all too powerful ember. Magikarp was easily the fish of the lake, nearly doubling the other 'karps in strength and level. Some of the Poliwags he encountered were a pain, but were overall an easy challenge.

Ash learned that James was busy with getting all of the equipment ready and delivered to Ash a compact gas mask that only went around his nose and mouth. James also made sure the transfer machine transported the pokeball's to the correct place.

With the night coming, Ash made sure to go see Joy at the center to heal his Pokémon.

* * *

With a brisk moon filtering through the obscure clouds, none of the few Pokémon in the garden that was still awake saw the sleep powder that swiftly descended on them.

"Ok, Ash, go! Have Charmander scout out the area so you can find them all. Keep your gas mask on. I am going inside to disable that alarm.

"Gotchya, later!" Ash said, his voice distorted through the mask, as he turned to the shrubbery.

Using the small infrared scanner in his measly gas mask, he made out plenty on immobile heat signiatures.

'_This should be a piece of cake.'_ Ash thought. After gathering nearly all the pokemon in the glade, he looked around for more signatures. Spotting some red spots adjacent the pond in the backyard , he sprinted over there with Charmander by his side.

Upon reaching the area, he saw them. Two Dratini, both sleeping in the middle of the field. Ash smiled. This was sure to give him brownie points. After throwing the first of the advanced pokeballs and capturing it, he brought out his last ball. The last pokemon to capture. James had given him the perfect amount. Ash, cocky as ever, rolled the pokeball towards the sleeping pokemon. The center touched the pokemon, but nothing happened.

And then Charmander growled.

Ash, shocked as anything, sprung back as a stream of blue flames breezed past his face, singing his hair, at the pokeball, effectively destroying it. Ash scowled, looked at the culprit and then smiled.

A Dratini had slipped out of the small lake and launched a Dragons Rage at the pokeball. Charmander immediately moved to Ash's side, and the fire burning on its tail intensified.

Ash on the other hand, clapped, confusing the two pokemon.

"Cha…Charmander?"

"Dra..tini…" The blue dragon said, the melodic voice of Dratini echoing Charmander's thoughts.

"That was very clever of you Dratini! Very, _very_ clever!"

Ash was genuinely impressed. The pokemon, using its ability Shed Skin, had subconsciously cured itself of its induced sleep, and had hidden in the lake. Using its own remaining skin as bait, it left a residue of heat for the scanner to pick up. Then, unsuspecting Ash and Charmander fell right into its trap, causing the final "Master Ball" to fail.

He had to hand it to the pokemon. It was a very well thought out plan, one that worked too. He watched as Dratini slipped back into the water.

"I am going to have to work to catch you now. But at least I will enjoy this. Charmander, wait it out, I think this will be a water battle. Go, Magikarp!" Ash yelled, throwing his pokeball into the water.

The dodgy looking fish popped out, and put its fishy game face on.

"Magikarp, tackle!" Ash yelled.

Speeding through the water at high speed, the Magikarp caught the unwary pokemon off guard, and launched it further back into the pond, dealing mild damage. Dratini responded in tune though, launching a dragons rage at the fish.

"Splash." Ash said, calm despite the situation.

Magikarp let it's natural instincts take over and unconsciously dodged the blue flames.

"Tackle again, Magikarp!" Ash commanded.

Dratini, still confused, was hit again by another high speed tackle. Launched out of the water and near Ash, it slowly rose up again. It let of another dragons rage, this time hitting the fishy Pokémon. Of course, due to the common low health of the Magikarp in general, the sure 40 damage dragon type move one shotted the fish. Ash smiled. He called his pokemon back and patted the ball.

'_Slowly but surely.'_

"Charmander!" Growled the salamander, keen to start fighting. Dratini turned and faced the fire lizard, and rushed towards Charmander. With uncanny speed, it wrapped itself around Charmander, and squeezed. Letting out a cry of pain, the Pokémon tried to bite the body of the slimy dragon, but to no avail.

"Use ember on the ground, Charmander." Ash said.

Listening, he burst a stream of fire from its mouth. The ground, now covered in flames, was making the Dratini feel hot and sweaty, and forced its grip on the pokemon to weaken. Charmander took this chance and used a smokescreen directly in the face of the dragon.

Coughing and spluttering, the dragon pokemon launched away from Charmander, only to see the fire type rush towards it through the smokescreen and flip in mid-air.

"Iron Tail."

The end of Charmander slammed into the forehead of the dragon type, dealing massive damage and it fainted. Ash grabbed a regular pokeball from his pack and threw it at Dratini. Charmander ran back towards Ash as Dratini disappeared into the pokeball.

*Tilt.

Ash wasn't sure what to make of events. What if he did catch this pokemon?

*Tilt.

If he did, would that make it his pokemon, or would he have to give it to James still.

*Tilt.

It was a rare pokemon, so it would be unlikely that he would get to keep it.

*Tilt.

But… maybe he didn't have to tell James.

*Click.

Ash yelled out in surprise, then realised where he was. He quickly grabbed the pokeball and looked at it. He would tell James, but keep it anyway. He now had a Dratini. If James said he couldn't keep it, he would just leave Team Rocket. He could run. He has Pokémon now.

He smiled and ran over to where James was standing, waiting for him to return.

"You finally done?" James asked.

"Yes, I caught every pokemon in the glade. I also encountered a small problem with a Dratini, and I had to catch it with my own Pokeball. What does that mean?"

"It means it's your pokemon, Ash. You caught it without our Pokeballs, so it's yours." James said, and tilted his head. "We might wanna get going."

"Right!" Said a very excited and relieved Ash.

* * *

"Ok, Ash. Time to leave here." James said. He had made sure there was no trace of suspicious activity in the hotel, and had his own stuff ready, in a red satchel bag. He also made sure he had a direct leave out of here, so that they weren't caught out. There was an officer on duty that would let him go straight out after last night's chaos. James also had reason to worry. He was not sure whether believing Jet outright was a good idea. It seemed too good to be true that all the officers in the next few towns were completely loyal, so he would have to keep an eye out.

Ash, on the other hand, was already keen to leave. He had everything packed and ready to move out. Of course, he had to carry little. The little backpack he was given was practically bottomless.

'_Thank god mum knew how to pick out backpacks.'_ He thought.

Even before he knew he wanted to be a trainer, his mother had been gathering things for his journey. On his 2nd birthday, he received a pair of running shoes that didn't fit him at all, and were probably 12 sizes too big. His 3rd he received this backpack that could never fit him when he was little. His 4th was his hat.

Over the years he lived in the house, he had found many items that continue to help him on his journey. Old maps for faraway countries and regions. An item called a scope lens, a various amount of berries, and his favourite item of all, with the most mystery.

A bike ticket. A very old one at that. What did it say…? Rydel, it said.

Perhaps mum was crazy after all.

"We have to show you to our leader." James said, placing a hand on Ash's shoulder, which woke the boy from his train of thought.

More like froze him on the spot.

"L-lead-leader of a-a-a-a crim-minal or-or-organisat-tion…"

"Yes, stutterbug. Let's move, it won't be as bad as you think."

How would he survive?

* * *

**A/N That is it folks! My longest chapter for this series yet! It was longer but I had to cut it down because of complete and utter silliness. I mean, honestly, I thought I was a better writer.**

**I hope this quenched your thirst for a better FanFic all you followers from Axel **

**If you review, I will shed your skin.**

**Only if you won't yell rape :P**

**~Vires**


	4. Solo artist

**A/N Another chapter! Another improvement! Hopefully you guys will love this one. I am having a few plot twists chuck their few ten cents in. :D**

* * *

James C-gear burst into life with three beeps a second.

They had been walking for a fair while. It was nearing 3 o'clock in the afternoon, and they were only a little over halfway to Viridian Forest. That is when James got the call. Checking the contact name, James sighed.

"Ok Ash, when the screen shows and our leader starts to talk, try your best to not get mad."

"Why?" Ash asked in a confused tone, stopping to grab the phone from James.

"Just trust me."

Suddenly the screen pixelated into a shaded out figure.

"I have gotten confirmation of all the pokemon that you and James have captured. James you know the amount you will be getting."

James nodded. He had already received his payment. The leader was getting sloppy.

"Now for you, despite the fact you managed to hook in several rare pokemon, your payment will be the same as anyone elses. $500. This will be the amount you will get for every mission, due to your rank. Other privileged missions may or may not offer more payment. Now that we have cleared this out, James will sort out any and all transaction details from here on out. I will not need to talk to you again. Giovanni out."

As the screen blanked out, and Ash slowly placed the phone back in James hand, Ash exploded.

"What kind of bullshit is that!? $500 for that effort! Fuck my life!" Ash swore.

"Now you see why I asked you to stay calm during the talk."

"Why does anyone listen to him this is ridiculous, I can understand that I'm a grunt and I knew I wouldn't make a lot of money but still I thought that I would get extra for the rare pokemon!" Ash yelled, clenching his fist.

"I can already tell I don't like this man. I'm surprised someone hasn't taken him out."

James had a small twinkle in his eye.

"Yes, well he is a powerful, which is why I have an idea for you. Whenever you battle another trainer and beat them, they will pay you. Trainer regulation. This will help you gain a little bit more money, I guess. Also, you will need a C-gear as well. The C-gear not only works as a communication device, it serves as a little computer. All of your transactions can be handled on that thing. Once we stop at the next pokemon center, you can download the Pokedex app as well. It is available to all trainers."

Ash smiled. Things were looking up, until he heard what James said.

"Wait…We?"

"Yes I plan on traveling with you for a while longer."

"Why?"

"You have a lot of potential and you just need the right push to be powerful so I'm going to give you the right push." James said, bringing a rose out of nowhere. Ash slowly backed away.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Another thing you can do, once I give you the app, are missions. You can do them at nearly any point. There are usually updates every day from an admin member who needs help with an operation, or just a few extra hands moving machinery or what not. Try using the filter option in your C-gear when you get the app to choose which city the missions are from, or categories. Whoever designed the app is a genius." James said, smirking, gesturing Ash to follow him again. Ash did.

"I'm going to give you a number to get in contact with the man from the black market. This way you can have an extra option to gain cash. Sell stolen pokemon here, information and whatnot. You can buy stuff from this place as well, as I have probably told you already. Is this alright with you?"

Ash, still his young self, was still cautious, but knew that caution was likely to get him killed. So why not live?

"Alright but will all my missions have to do with stealing pokemon or am I going to be doing other things?"

"You will be getting different types of jobs and sometimes we will have to go separate ways but we could always continue to travel with each other."

"That sounds fine. How close are we to the next town?"

"We have to clear Viridian forest yet, so it shouldn't be too far after that. We are almost there."

Ash grimaced. More walking to do. At least he was learning a lot more. Maybe if he ever left, he could sell out all this information. Maybe a backup plan would be a good idea, just in case this whole criminal thing didn't work out. James started speaking again after a while of travelling in silence.

"Ok, the contact for the black market is Mike. Here, have my C-gear for a moment. I need to check something on a separate line."

"Right then, let's call Mike." Ash said, mainly to himself.

* * *

Unlike most 10 year olds that just rush off as soon as they get there pokemon, when his mother died he made sure to know everything about the Kanto region, all of the gym leaders, what pokemon they use and how strong they are. However, when he didn't get his pokemon he thought he wouldn't be able to humiliate Gary when he got to the pokemon league. Now, even though he is in Team rocket, he could still be able to go through all the gyms and beat the league. With this in mind, Ash happily rang the dealer. The screen showed a shaded out person.

"Ah you must be the new recruit for Team Rocket. Pleasure to do business with you! Now, tell me what do you need from me tonight?"

Ash only raised his eyebrow at the polite attitude of the man but chalked it up to the man making sure that customers returned to do business with him.

"Well I wanted to know the price for a few pokemon or the eggs for those pokemon."

"Well lucky for you often the eggs that come from me aren't very expensive thanks to a dear friend of mine being a very good breeder, so tell me what pokemon you are interested in and I will take a gander at what I've got."

"Just two for now. A Bagon and a female Snorunt. Also, I need a dawn stone."

"Hmmm let's see. You're in luck my friend. I have a female Snorunt. Her total cost, along with the dawn stone, is $2300. I also have about 5 eggs left from a Salamence that cost about $500 each. Anything you want to know about the eggs or from the Salamence that laid them?"

"Yes, about the Salamence, I saw some reliable information that usually the eggs that hatch have very different personalities from the mother and father. Can you confirm that?"

The shaded out man laughed.

"For a new recruit, you're well informed. Yes, for inexperienced breeders, but my friend is able to make sure that when the eggs hatch they will be extremely obedient to their trainer. Unfortunately only three species of pokemon are susceptible to this hatching method so far, Salamence being one of them. All other pokemon that she has performed it on never worked. So what items will you be buying today?"

Ash was intrigued by that statement. Mike had said "Items" referring to the pokemon. He guessed that it would be a right frame of mind to have as an illegal dealer of pokemon and items.

"Yes I want to buy the Snorunt and the Dawn stone along with the egg, so the total should be $2800 correct?"

"Yes that is correct. Since your account has been set up I'll take the money out once you get the pokemon."

Ash froze.

"A-account? What account?" He stuttered.

"Oh, James set up an account for you and transferred all funds he could find laying around the place. Your total funds count comes to $12,000. That is impressive for a kid your age."

"James never told me about this."  
"Then I guess he didn't tell you about the surprise either. Oops... Wasn't supposed to say anything… My bad. Oh, where will you be at?"

Ash, still confused, and now curious as hell, decided to ignore the subject change and get on with the call.

"I believe I will be at the Viridian Forest Lake in about a day."

"Viridian Forest… a day… OK. A Pidgeot will be delivering them. She will know it's you when you say my name to her. Later, Ash." He said.

With that, he signed off just as James came around the corner.

"Yo, Ash. I have an important mission to do. For now, your gonna have to haul your own ass through Viridian Forest."

Ash laughed.

"Yeah, no problem. Will you be in Pewter city by the time I get there?"  
"Pretty much. I just have to run a few errands that will take me a couple of days. Stay safe!"

"Like you care." Ash laughed, before handing back James' C-gear.

"Of course I would Ash. You're my prized recruit. I expect big things from you."

And with that, James walked away, smiling.

* * *

Ash arrived at the entrance of Viridian forest by sundown. The whole route thing got him confused. Why not just name the roads everyone had to walk on? Ash sighed, and entered the forest. Gathering that it would be better to travel all night with Charmander by his side then camping out the front waiting for day, he pulled out his pokeball.

"Come on out, Charmander!" He said.

The fire lizard burst out of the pokeball, looking for a fight. However, this would be the second time the salamander would be disappointed.

"You're here to keep me awake, buddy!" Ash said, walking into the gloom. (Not pokemon)

Charmander, still confused, pumped his little legs after Ash.

As the night went on, Charmander gained a lot of experience from fighting all the bug type pokemon. caterpie and metapod were easy cooking, but a weedle every now and again proved stumping, as Charmander had to avoid that poison. Ash, as he went deeper in, spotted an odd looking male standing next to a tree. Bored out of his brain, Ash went over and talked to him.

"Yo." Ash said, waving his hand.

"ARRGGGURRBANSTUF!" Yelled the man, turning and falling over flat on his face. Ash, utterly confused, ran and helped the man up.

"The hell man? What's wrong?"

"Ohh, nothing," the guy said, waving Ash off and standing. "You just scared the Muk out of me is all."

"Riighht…So what are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you that same question. I am here testing out a move of mine. I could teach it to you as well."

"A move? What move?"

"Headbutt. I am trying to hook me a Heracross. I already have a male, so I need a female."

Ash smiled. Time to show James what he could do without him.

"Well, do you want any help?"

"Actually, yes. I want to train my Heracross a little more, so I need to have him battle something a couple of times. Do you mind losing a little bit?"

"As long as I don't have to pay you." Ash said, smiling. "Go, Charmander."

Charmander ran out from behind Ash, and stood in position. Heracross came out seconds later.

"Go Heracross, use horn attack!"  
"Charmander, dodge and use bite!"

With surprising speed, Heracross launched itself across the field of darkness and slammed into Charmander, launching the fire type into a tree not 4 metres away. Charmander, with effort, pulled himself up, and stood, awaiting his next command.

"Try using ember, Charmander!"

"Heracross, dodge than use swords dance!"

The ember, even though right on target, missed as the flame skimmed the thighs of the Bug type as it flew away out of harm's way. Ash grimaced. He needed Charmander strong and healthy if his plan was to work.

"Now Heracross, use horn attack again!"

"Jump on its back!" Ash yelled, realising he just got his opportunity.

Now in sync with the other Pokémon's speed, Charmander easily jumped onto the bug types back, and launched an ember into the back of its head. A loud screaming pitch later and Heracross crashed into the ground. Not out yet, it slowly got up, and hovered in mid-air. Charmander had jumped off before the crash and now waited for Heracross to make a move. It did. It hurled itself at the salamander, who in turn hurled its Iron Tail at the Pokémon's head, launching it into the air and crashing onto the other guy. The man's backpack and gear went flying across the whole glade, and Ash rushed forward, using the opportunity. In the midst, he grabbed Heracross's pokeball, and returned the pokemon. Frantically grabbing another pokeball out of his backpack, he tossed it into the pile of pokeballs on the ground and shoved Heracross into his pack.

The man got up and looked at the mess. He turned his head and saw Ash picking up his pokeballs in the corner, and putting them into the pack. He walked over and helped him out.

"Wow, your Charmander is something else." He said, picking up the bag and slinging it over his shoulder.

"Really? Thanks! Oh, I returned your pokemon to his pokeball and he is somewhere in the bag. Sorry." Ash said, smiling a little.

"Ahh, no worries. I will get him out later. Thanks for the battle though."

"Yeah, no problem. I might come back and learn that Headbutt move of yours. Oh, what's your name?" Ash said, grinning from ear to ear, and calling Charmander back into his pokeball.

"I'll be waiting. And it is Kirin." He said, waving.

"Later Kirin!" Said Ash, walking towards the lake, the biggest grin on his face.

He was smiling because not only did he get him a Heracross, he also found a Leftovers in that pack.

* * *

He should have arrived at the lake sooner. He wasn't prepared when the Pidgeot swooped in and landed right next to him.

"Pidgeot?" The burly bird pokemon said.

"You're here because of Mike, aren't you buddy." Ash said, grinning.

The Pidgeot tilted his head, then lay down on the grass by the lake. Ash, ever so carefully, moved towards it, and gasped at what he saw. On the back of the pokemon was a C-gear. Ash ran forward, and grabbed it. Looking through the contacts, he saw a message, and opened it.

_Yo, Ash, my favourite mellow customer! This is the surprise James got for you. I had a G-x9 available. It is slightly more reliable than the newer G-VR C-Gear but works fine. James and I are the only one on your contacts list, and I also took the liberty of installing Rocket Science. This is our "App" so if you look closely enough, you will find what you're looking for. Oh, and the backpack on Pidgeot is the items you requested. I suggest you get acquainted with Snorunt right away, as they are fidgety little critters._

_Oh, for the record, if you wanted to set up a trade link between you and I, as a personal customer, then talk to James. He is my other "Worthwhile" customer. All the other grunts that come to me are gutless and without humour. _

_Well, that's it from me! Mike out!_

Ash grinned again. At least there was someone else he could rely on. He glided his finger over the screen, and saw this odd looking icon. Clicking on it, the whole screen went black, and the Team Rocket symbol showed up. Barely seconds afterwards, there were three options to choose from. Tasks, Chat and "The Dex."

Intrigued, Ash nearly pressed "The Dex" then realised he had work to do. Clicking Tasks, a menu popped up. Just like James said, there was a search option, ranging from region to city, difficulty, payment and sequential. Ash picked the "All time" option in sequential, and scrolled through all the mission options that were available.

Mission 1: Steal pokemon from specific Trainer.

Mission 2: Steal pokemon from Pokemon center in Pewter City.

Mission 3: Help Butch and Cassidy in Celadon City with their assignment.

A huge list in reverse chronological order, of missions, numbering in the hundreds. Ash estimated that there was around 500 missions to choose from. Each option on the list had a in depth summary, and once you clicked the link, it would take you to a mission folder, containing things like essential items, requirements, preferences, location and many more.

Ash whistled. This was a pretty in depth app. Whoever made this was definitely not getting paid enough. He skimmed through the options, until one in particular caught his eye.

Mission 79: Infiltration of Pokémon league and Gym system in Kanto.

Gripped with a sense of exhilaration, Ash pressed the link. However, there was no folder. Only the app closing down and the sign of a pending call. Confused, Ash went to press the end call button, but before he could, the call was answered.

"Welcome to missi…Ash?" Said the confused man on the screen.

"J-James?" Ash sputtered, just as muddled.

"Well looks like my secret is out. You clicked on mission 79, correct?"

"Yes. So this is probably why you have disappeared these last few times."

"Yup, now you know one of my missions. I planned on telling you later on, but I think the way you found out is better. Before I continue, is there any questions you wish to ask?"

Ash nearly shook his head, then thought of something.

"What rank are you?"

Ash was pretty sure that the split second look of pure rage was definitely warranted when he heard what James said next.

"I am a Admin. You see Ash, the ranking goes, from the top, Leader, Executive, Admin, and lastly Grunt. I have been stuck as an Admin for the last two years even though I am a lot more competent then some of the higher ups. However, "Leader" has yet to promote me. I know I can't do anything about it, but you can. You have a lot of talent and you will be able to go through the ranks easily."

"Wow. Harsh," Ash said, looking at a not very happy James. "Tell me what this mission is all about."

James composed himself, and looked all business.

"Ok basically we want to take over all the gyms and then the league. Flint, from Pewter city is already aware and a part of our scheme. We have been watching all of the gym leaders and know everything about them. We have recently developed a disguise feature that can change everything about someone to make them look exactly like someone else, behavioral and all."

"Oh I get it. Basically if they don't agree, you can replace them with some one that looks and acts just like them and take over there gym."

"Precisely."

'_Damn' _Ash thought. These scientists are crazy good.

"Thanks to another experiment of ours we can make sure that the pokemon of the gym leaders listen to our replacements. Unfortunately we haven't been able to make much progress. I am sure you could guess why."

"Strength issue. These people train daily and get stronger every day. It would be hard to take them down."

"Exactly, and with what limited resources I have, I can't really do much about it. You, on the other hand… Your perfect for what I need."

Ash raised his eyebrow.

"I see how I can be very useful for this mission but what about the other grunts? Are they that weak?"

"They have no drive to get stronger and I can already tell that even if I do get stronger I won't get any more promotions. You I can see going far. This is why I need your help. Once you defeat the gym leaders we will use that moment as an opening to take them out, or convince them to our side. Trust me, I have a way with words."

Damn right he did.

"This is everything you need to worry about right now. Continue your training and try to get stronger. This is so you can gain proper strength to complete this task. I will see you in Pewter city in a couple of days." James said, and then hung up. Ash smiled. He had a good purpose now. Looking up, he realised that is was night time again, about 8 o'clock. The whole Heracross incident had made time lengthen out considerably and it was midday by the time Ash made it within eyesight of the lake. The whole Pidgeot incident and James' call had made time fly by. Ash settled into the small tent that he had set up moments before Pidgeot arrived.

_'Sweet dreams, Gary. I am coming for you!'_ Ash thought before drifting into a fitful sleep…

* * *

**A/N Another chapter baby! Hope you enjoyed this one. I was kinda stumped on how to translate the end, but I hoped it worked out fine. If you think I am doing alright, then tell me :D**

**If you review, I will weave a conspiracy against Giovanni.**

**If you already couldn't tell.**

**Vires out!**


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